A Seoul court ordered the arrest of Lee Man-hee, the 94-year-old leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, over allegations that he coerced more than 50,000 followers into joining South Korea’s People Power Party.
The allegations cover a period from 2021 through 2024 and concern a suspected violation of the Political Parties Act. The conservative PPP was the country’s ruling party during the presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol at the time of the alleged conduct. The Seoul Central District Court approved the warrant on Wednesday night, citing a danger that evidence could be destroyed, according to a brief court statement provided to Agence France-Presse. Lee was then taken into custody.
Shincheonji challenged the basis for detaining its leader. In a statement, the church said repeated searches and seizures meant the relevant evidence had already been secured. It also argued that Lee’s age made flight an unrealistic prospect. The organization expressed deep regret at the arrest and said it would use its legal resources to establish the facts and seek what it called the substantive truth at trial.
The arrest puts Lee’s case within a broader investigation of suspected ties between religious organizations and political figures. Prosecutors and police began a joint inquiry into possible collusion in January. In a separate case, prosecutors had indicted Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja over allegations that she directed church officials to bribe Yoon’s wife in pursuit of business favors. Former first lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced by an appeals court in April to four years in prison after being convicted on charges that included accepting luxury gifts from a Unification Church official.
Yoon, meanwhile, had been removed from office and convicted of insurrection following his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024. He remained detained while appealing a life sentence. Those proceedings are distinct from the accusations against Lee, which remain allegations to be tested in court.
Lee founded Shincheonji in 1984. The church is associated with distinctive readings of the Bible, especially the Book of Revelation, and has drawn both a large membership and sustained controversy. Critics have accused it of deceptive recruiting. Researchers say its teachings assign Lee a messianic role and anticipate that 144,000 people will accompany him to heaven on the Day of Judgement. The group also attracted scrutiny early in the Covid-19 outbreak, when its members accounted for more than half of South Korea’s coronavirus cases at one stage.
The warrant does not determine Lee’s guilt. It authorizes his detention while the political-recruitment accusations proceed, with the court’s stated concern focused on preserving evidence and the church promising to contest the case.
